The Passing of a Friend

I first met Jonathan Moncrief after the 2010 Winter Olympics when I decided I wanted to cover hockey. Aside from casually watching hockey here and there, I was very wet behind the ears when it came to hockey. In fact I had been to only one live game before.

We quickly became friends, and I really used him and the other writers to help me learn to analyze hockey – something I’m still not 100% comfortable with. And he in turned used me for Dodgers information when he covered them for the Examiner.

I didn’t hear until pretty late in the game that he was hospitalized earlier this year. While it was concerning, he seemed upbeat as he was tweeting and writing Facebook updates from the hospital. And of course all of use razzed him saying that all the Coke in the press box was safe from his pilfering. Yuk yuk yuk!

He contacted me last night wanting a ride to Dodger Stadium from Union Station today – Kings’ players Brad Richardson and Jarret Stoll were going to be at the game throwing the first pitch. I told him last night to be there by 2:40. This morning I realized that I would be a little early, so I texted him this morning to be ready by 2:30. But I never heard back.

At around noon I was farting around and a Facebook notification popped up on Tweetdeck from Andrew Knoll of Hockey’s Future saying, “RIP Jon Moncrief.” Apparently he had another pulmonary embolism and died this morning.

I’m still in a state of shock. The press box at STAPLES Center will not be the same. And I am just saddened by the death of someone I was happy to call a friend.